Pacific Coachworks Resumes Full Production

Pacific Coachworks Inc. reported Wednesday (July 1) that the company has returned to full production of its Tango and Tango Twist brands of travel trailers and fifth-wheels, after enduring a months-long reduction as the recession hobbled manufacturing output.

“I don’t want to say that things are ‘rosy,” said Dane Found, president of the Riverside, Calif.-based builder, “but I think we are optimistic that the RV industry is recovering perhaps faster than some other segments of the economy. We’ve got a decent backlog of orders to build right now, and we will continue to act on that during the next couple of months.”

According to Found, three-year-old Pacific Coachworks hit its nexus in the spring of 2008, when its then-192 employees were producing an average of 10 units daily. The recent upswing has allowed Pacific Coachworks to begin repopulating open manufacturing positions idled by layoffs, and the company’s current 100 employees are producing five units daily.

“Because we haven’t been running regular production for several months, our inventory was depleted greatly,” Found acknowledged. “Over the next few months we should be able to replenish dealer inventories.”

To maximize the company’s output, Found announced the addition of two new district sales managers. Ryan Scott, formerly with Fleetwood Enterprises Inc.’s travel trailer division, will be focusing on sales in the southern region, while Ray Brech, previously with Thor California and Komfort Corp., will oversee the northern region. “We’re pleased to have both of them on-board,” Found said.

The surge in manufacturing activity has also buoyed development on several projects. “We plan on introducing a couple of new models shortly,” said Found, “as well as a model in another product segment.” Plans call for the new additions also to be built at the Riverside plant.